the top 10 tech stories of 2012

                                           

#1 Samsung v. Apple

There's bad blood, and then there's Apple and Samsung. A little more than a year after Apple sued the South Korean tech giant for copying its products, followed by Samsung filing its own suit right back, the two frenemies finally headed to court for a trial that would last a little over three weeks.
In the end, a California jury sided almost entirely with Apple, finding that Samsung had, in fact, infringed on a handful of Apple's patents and the look and feel of its products. That resulted in a $1.05 billion damages bill and a possible sales ban on a number of (mostly older) Samsung devices.
The fight is far from over, though. The two companies are scheduled to go back to court in 2014 in a case that involves another group of patents and newer devices. However, some legal experts believe a settlement is likely before that case ever makes it to trial.